To Be Whole
by Ani Isilee
Summary: Pinocchio's life is turned upside down (not for the first time) after he and his grandfather Geppetto are forced to move. But he nervously wonders if he will be accepted because he harbors a secret that makes him… different from most other people. After several rocky transitions in his recent past, will he be able to make friends and find his place here in Novatown?


**_A/N: Hi, guys! I'm Ani Isilee. I've been on here a long time and even used to have a couple of stories here (which I took down because of writer's block and because I felt it was cheesy writing that stemmed from my mid-teen years). But I'm back, and I'm brimming with more ideas. At this time, I'm nostalgically obsessed with Disney characters, so expect near future stories to be about them. In this case I've been inspired to write a Pinocchio/Alice fic._**

**_Asterisk * Note: The term "Nonno" (according to my research) is the Italian word for "grandfather." Since Pinocchio was originally written by an Italian, I figured why not pay some homage to his Italian heritage? I plan on doing something similar for the other Disney characters I feature in this story: by giving them some ties rooted in the original settings for their stories._**

**_Disclaimer: I do not own any characters that you recognize as being from Disney. I'm merely "borrowing" these characters for fun._**

**_And now without further ado… I hope you enjoy this story!  
_**

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Chapter 1: The First Day

"I'll be here at 3:05 to pick you up," said an elderly white-haired, bespectacled man sitting in the driver's seat of his truck. "Try to relax and enjoy your first day. You might make some new friends."

"I'll try, Nonno*," replied a teenage boy who then gathered his backpack and opened the door. With a hesitant smile, Pinocchio waved goodbye at his grandfather Geppetto as he climbed out of the truck and turned his apprehensive gaze towards his new school. Walter E. Disney Academy. '_This is it,_' he thought. '_No turning back_.' As the morning sun shone on the school building and the surrounding dewy grass, throngs of students milled about the campus, some catching up with friends, and others walking inside.

Pinocchio still couldn't get over the fact that Geppetto and he had to move, but he knew that it was necessary given their financial circumstances. And because of that, the young boy hardly knew a single soul here. His grandfather wanted him enrolled as soon as possible to give him a chance at a normal routine again. Since Pinocchio had only toured his new school once, he was sure he'd forgotten much of the layout already.  
'_I hope I don't get lost. That would suck,' _he nervously mused, then shook his head. All he had to do was look at the room numbers on the classroom doors and match them up to the numbers on his schedule. If he got turned around somehow, then he'd look for a teacher and ask for help.

And Pinocchio didn't even want to _think_ about what would happen when everyone here finally found out he had a— He forced himself to cut off the thought as he looked down at himself, making sure he looked presentable. His yellow T-shirt and black denim vest were crisp and clean, and his dark red pants and black shoes perfectly hid the feature that was the subject of his apprehension — his left leg. _'Good,'_ he nodded to himself. _'No one will be able to tell… for now.'_

With that, Pinocchio pushed open the large front doors and entered the school. More students lingered in the hallways chatting. He found himself inside a hallway that appeared to go in some sort of square or circle, with a few flights of stairs placed here and there. _'Oh, yeah,'_ he remembered. _'The hallways run in a circle here. If I get lost, I can always cycle back around. Not like the maze of my old school. Now that took some getting used to_._'_ Glancing down at his schedule again, Pinocchio continued to search for his homeroom. Judging by the numbers, the nervous blue-eyed boy was sure he was getting closer –

"Oof!" Pinocchio felt himself crash into something. Or some_one_, rather. His schedule flew from his hand and drifted to the floor. He looked at the fallen paper briefly, then at the pair of black Mary-Janes standing near it. His eyes then trailed up, past the black polka dotted tights, ruffled denim skirt, and short-sleeve blue tee layered over thin black and white striped long sleeves. Quickly his gaze flew up to the pale yet rosy cheeks, sheepish smile, and clear blue eyes blinking back at him.

"I'm so sorry," the girl started. "I wasn't watching where I was going…" She shook her head in embarrassment, her blonde mane swaying slightly behind her. Her quirky style of dress, British accent, and polite demeanor gave her a unique charm.

'Cute,' was Pinocchio's first thought for a moment before he mentally slapped himself. 'What are you thinking, you dolt? Listen, she's still talking to you!'

"My sister always scolds me about being 'too far inside my own mind' sometimes," the girl added.

"It was my fault," Pinocchio replied. "Er, I wasn't paying attention either." He bent over to pick up his fallen schedule (he also didn't want to be caught staring). "I'm new here, and I'm looking for my homeroom," he explained.

"Oh!" The blonde smiled kindly. "Let me help you. May I see your schedule?"

Pinocchio nodded with an answering grin and held his schedule out. The girl peered at it briefly and then said, "Ah! We have homeroom together! History with Mr. Thatch. It's right down the hall… this way!"

The blonde girl motioned to Pinocchio to follow her and they found themselves in front of a classroom. The door stood ajar and some students already sat inside waiting for class to begin.

"Thanks so much," Pinocchio said happily.

"No trouble at all," said the girl. Then she frowned and smacked her forehead. "Once again my manners escaped me. My name is Alice Liddell." With an encouraging smile, she asked, "What is your name?"

"Like I have any room to judge," Pinocchio answered with a chuckle. "I'm Pinocchio. Pinocchio Albero."

"Well it's lovely to meet you, Pinocchio," said Alice as she held her hand out for a handshake.

"Likewise," Pinocchio answered with a smile. Then he did something daring. He wasn't sure why he did it; maybe it was her formal demeanor. But when he took Alice's outstretched hand, instead of shaking it, he brought it up and gently kissed the back of it. A light pink hue dusted Alice's face and Pinocchio was sure his face matched his dark red pants.

Before he could apologize however, Alice batted her eyes with an impish smile and remarked, "You're quite the charmer. If I didn't know better, I'd say you were flirting."

"Er—well…that is… I—" Pinocchio began, but a brief loud ringing cut off his attempted apology.

"That was the warning bell," said Alice. "Let's go in before the late bell rings." As she led Pinocchio into the room, she continued, "By the way, I just couldn't resist teasing you. Really, you're a perfect gentleman."

"Heh, thanks," said Pinocchio with a bashful smile.

Alice grinned back (Pinocchio quickly discovered that he liked to see her smile) before pointing to two empty seats near the front by the door. Pinocchio nodded and they both sat down; Alice's desk was positioned right behind his. Some other students looked up when they saw the two walking in, and Pinocchio, being a new face, received a few curious stares. Most went back to what they were doing before (talking, texting, reading, etc.).

"Good morning, Alice," a voice greeted. Alice and Pinocchio turned to see another girl moving to a desk near them. Her thick strawberry-blonde hair brushed her shoulder blades and messy bangs covered her forehead. Her complexion and features resembled those of Alice, though her blue eyes were a lighter shade and her face had a few more freckles. Her attire consisted of mostly denim: a dark denim jacket layered over a lavender top, matching dark skinny jeans, and knee-high black boots.

"Hi, Jane," Alice greeted her back warmly. "This is Pinocchio," she gestured to the boy in front of her desk. "This is his first day here."

"Well, hello there," Jane turned to Pinocchio with a polite nod and welcoming smile. "I'm Jane Darling-Liddell. Alice and I are cousins, by the way." Like Alice, Jane spoke with a British accent. "How are you?" she asked.

"Fine, thanks," Pinocchio replied. "And it's nice to meet you, Jane."

"You too." Jane gave a friendly nod.

Before any of the three could say more, three more students rushed through the door. One of them was a tall boy with lightly tanned skin and brown hair tied in a low ponytail. His baggy brown shirt and pants rustled with his movement and his black combat boots thudded heavily with each step he took. Next came an olive-skinned girl with a long black braid. She wrapped her arms around herself, wrinkling her white blouse, while her long purple skirt swayed with her gait. Her sandals lightly clopped with her steps. Last came a shorter, younger looking boy with East Asian features and spiky dark hair. His slightly oversized blue jacket gaped open over a red shirt and draped over the top of his tan cargo pants, which stopped above his gray sneakers with yellow shoelaces.

Pinocchio frowned in concern when he noticed the contorted expressions on their faces: all three of them looked as if any second, they were going to be violently ill. It didn't take long at all for him to learn why. He didn't normally eavesdrop, but their slightly raised voices and close proximity to him, Jane, and Alice carried their conversation over to them. What they overheard strongly hinted at something Pinocchio found extremely disturbing.

"My God!" the dark-haired girl exclaimed, her large brown eyes wide, clearly expressing horror. "I wish brain-bleach existed, because I did not EVER expect to be involved in something like that."

"I'm with you, Shanti," the taller boy agreed, a disgusted sneer on his face. "I mean, who would be happy to catch a teacher in the middle of—and he had the nerve to do it here at school with _people_ around—" he cut himself off as a shudder ran through him. He then shook his head with vigor, presumably trying to clear some nauseating images from his mind.

"I'm just glad we weren't the ones who directly saw it," declared the short-statured, messy-haired boy. It was bad enough just _hearing_ it. I wouldn't want to be in Mr. Thatch's shoes right now. And the way he yelled at Mr. Frollo… I've never seen him so angry…" He furrowed his brow and shook his head, appearing to slip into his own thoughts.

Pinocchio's frown deepened. _'Mr. Thatch? But that's—' _He glanced down at his schedule lying on his desk.

**Period 1—-World History 1877-Present—M. Thatch**

Oh, boy. The class would probably have a substitute teacher today. He never was a big fan of subs. But in this case a more pressing question nagged at Pinocchio's mind: _Why?_ If what he'd just heard was any indication, then something very serious must have happened. He glanced back up just in time to see Alice and Jane exchange a significant look before Alice nodded at Jane.

Jane spoke up. "Hiro," she called, addressing the choppy-haired boy who just finished speaking. "What are you guys talking about? What happened with Mr. Thatch and Mr. Frollo?"

The three youth in question briefly glanced at each other, hesitant. Finally Hiro answered, "You definitely won't believe this."

"Try me," Jane shot back.

"It will make you want to puke," warned the taller boy with the ponytail; Pinocchio quickly matched his name to his face: Jim (since Jane had called the shorter choppy-haired boy Hiro).

"Well, now that actually makes me even more curious," lilted Alice as she tilted her head forward in interest.

"Jim and Hiro are right… what we heard and _almost saw_ is something that would scar a person for life," cautioned the dark-featured girl, whom Jim had called Shanti.

"Come on," Alice insisted. "Tell us."

"Well—" Jim began, but the tardy bell rang, interrupting what he was going to say. Seconds later, it stopped, and he glanced at the door. Seeing no sign of a teacher about to enter, he got up to quietly close it. He then sat back down in his seat and took a deep breath. The next statement that came from Jim's mouth would incite pandemonium in the unsupervised class.

"All right… you asked for it. Mr. Thatch caught Mr. Frollo hiding in an empty classroom masturbating to porn!"


End file.
